Warrior Queen
by JoshTheWriter
Summary: A war later, he is different. But so is she. Sometimes the tightest bonds are the most dangerous traps. Medieval Fantasy AU
1. Stand as One

_Hi there, welcome to Warrior Queen. This is the first of my spin-off fics, as well as the first attempt at writing romance that I've posted publically. I would recommend having at least read chapter one of my other story, just to understand the AU. As always, please leave me a review or pm me to let me know what you think!_

* * *

The wind whipped along the rocky plateau, whistling past the armies of the living that valiantly clashed with the hordes of undead that marched towards them. Rain pounded into the rocky plateau, pouring from the oppressive clouds that hung over the field of battle. The Queen watched implacably from the back of her rapidash, hand resting nervously on the haft of her spear. She glanced up at the twin dragonite that stood behind her, confident in their ability to defend her from any threat.

"My Queen, I must insist that we retreat to safety, " her attendant bowed deeply, pleading with the warrior Queen. "Kanto has abandoned the field, we will be surrounded."

She looked up to the edge of the cliff where her beloved stood. Despite the distance and the storm, she could make out his ridiculous cape flapping in the wind behind him. "No, " she said calmly. "Reform the line. We make our stand here." She lifted her spear, courage blazing in her brown eyes. "The King commands it!" she shouted over the din of battle.

Her attendant raised a horn, blowing three short blasts into the air. The order repeated itself, the other attendants relaying the order with their own horns. Slowly but surely, the front lines of the Johtan army moved closer to the Queen.

"My cousin is lucky to have you, Queen Mira, " Clair said, her dragonair quivering in anticipation at her side. She looked up at the warrior Queen with grim determination in her eyes. "May the gods protect us, " she said, her voice never wavering despite the odds.

"The gods favour the bold, " she said in response, her hand still resting on her spear. "Prepare your men for battle, we must drive these abominations back." She tapped the lone ball on her belt, releasing the bloodthirsty beast within. Her ursaring stretched up to its full height, roaring a deep-throated challenge to the hordes of the dead. The Queen drew in a deep breath and held out her arm to her attendant.

Her attendant strapped her shield to her arm as Clair stormed away, fussing with the straps while he blustered. "Queen Mira, I must protest this course of action. Lance will-"

She cut him off with a withering glare. "My husband is not in command of this army. I am." She pulled her arm away from the attendant, testing the straps nervously. "We will hold the line. We will prevail," she said defiantly, eyes locked onto the approaching army of the dead.

A charizard swooped low over the Johtan army, blood and viscera dripping from its claws. It landed beside the Queen, its rider leaping off the fire drake's back. "Queen Mira!" he shouted as he approached. "We must get you to safety. This battle is lost!"

The Queen turned to face the newcomer, her face an emotionless mask. "I cannot do that, Elder. A retreat would expose us to attack from the rear. Rally your men if you can, but we must hold them back." She grimaced as she realized how dire the situation had become. "We must hold until the King arrives."

Samuel Oak shook his head. "Please, Mira. It is not safe here." He strode over to her side, looking back at the front line nervously. "Someone has betrayed us. A traitor has slain Kanto's leadership, I fear that you may be a target as well."

"Let them come," she said. "The dragon will not fall." She looked up at the dragonite behind her, who growled in response.

"Mira-"

Her attendant stepped in front of him, his hand clasped tightly on the hilt of his blade. "You will address the Queen properly, or not at all."

Oak stiffened and stepped away from the Queen of Johto. "You have made your choice?" he asked, glancing back at the encroaching army of undead.

She nodded. "I have, " she replied. "Lance will not fail us."

Oak bowed his head and backed away from the Queen. "Then I take my leave. Be safe, Mira." His charizard lowered her neck, allowing the Elder to clamber atop her back.

She nodded in respect. "You as well, Elder." She turned away as the charizard spread her wings and flapped away. A powerful roar erupted from one of the dragonite behind her as the firedrake soared into the sky.

A pained scream drew her attention back to the battle at hand. One of her men stumbled away from the line, clutching at his shield arm. A mangled pikachu was clamped onto the man's bicep, undead teeth tearing into living flesh as the man flailed about. The gap in the shield wall widened as the undead hordes forced themselves into the opening. Her men sealed the hole with practiced ease, dispatching the abominations that snuck through their defenses in moments.

"Lady Clair!" she called, searching for the woman's icy blue hair. The line was beginning to buckle, and the true battle would soon begin. For the first time, Mira felt truly scared that they would not prevail. A rumble from the dragons behind her dispelled the thought as easily as it had appeared.

The woman appeared at her side, her hand nervously gripping the hilt of her blade. "My Queen, " she replied curtly, eyes scanning the ragged line of men that stood between the two women and the dead. Their remaining forces were far too outnumbered for her comfort.

"We become legends today, " she said softly, looking at the weapon in her lap. "Our names will live on in songs and stories." She raised her spear, admiring it as Clair shot her a puzzled look. "Because we will hold the line!" she shouted, voice clear over the moans of the dead. "Our descendants will rejoice in our names because of the sacrifice that we lay down here today." She pointed her spear forwards as the line of men finally bucked under the hordes of the dead. "Charge!" she exclaimed, heels digging into her rapidash's haunches.

Clair roared in response, her dragonair already surging into the charging horde of undead. She leapt off its back as it drove headlong into the horde, impaling a raticate that was missing an eye through its empty socket. The undead beast crashed to the floor as Clair whirled about, dispatching a trio of shambling humans that lumbered towards her with merciless ease.

The Queen thundered past her, goring the abomination that had been about to tear Clair to pieces through the eye. The undead human collapsed as Mira's spear tore through its rotting skull with ease. Her rapidash reared back, crushing through the undead abominations that rushed towards her with its hooves. "Fire blast!" she ordered, slipping from the horse's back and impaling yet another abomination through the knee. It dropped to the ground, unable to support its own weight on its newly shattered kneecap. Mira slammed the edge of her shield into its jaw, nearly decapitating the creature in the process.

An explosion of flames tore from her rapidash's mouth, burning a fiery path into the hordes of undead. The fireball slammed into the ground and exploded, throwing dozens of walking corpses into the air. Her rapidash spat a torrent of flames at the few corpses that still stumbled towards them.

The Queen's ursaring bounded over the flaming horse, barreling into a pack of corpses that had avoided the flames. The ursaring decimated the undead in moments, crushing them easily under her massive paws. She turned and roared, a ball of energy gathering in her massive jaws. A beam of brilliant light burst forth, cutting a down a swath of the horde as if they were wheat before a scythe.

"My Queen," called Clair. She pointed her blade towards the rocky cliffside that sat above the plateau. "Trouble with the King, " she shouted.

Mira turned away from the battle, trusting her pokemon to protect her for the moment. A charizard fled into the sky, Lance's dragonite in dogged pursuit behind it. They disappeared into the clouds, flashes of light illuminating the battling dragons through the storm.

A roar of pain drew her attention back to the battle at hand. The horde of undead abominations had crept closer to her while she'd been distracted. Her ursaring swung one of its massive paws, sending a trio of the corpses tumbling over each other. Another ball of flame erupted forth from her rapidash, throwing more corpses through the air with its explosion.

A maniacal laugh split the air, seeming to come from the shadows under her ursaring. Without warning, the massive bear dropped as if it were a puppet whose strings had been cut. It whined as it struggled to rise, a sound that Mira hadn't heard since it had been a teddiursa cub. She put her hand on her starter's side, attempting to calm her bloodthirsty beast.

"It's gonna be alri-"

Her ursaring turned, snapping her jaws at Mira's hand with a vicious snarl. Her eyes blazed with purple light, betraying her true attacker's identity. She jumped back, jabbing at her possessed pokemon's snout with her spear and forcing its jaws away from her face. Her rapidash turned, hooves slamming into the suddenly violent ursaring's side.

The gengar burst from the ursaring's maw with a spray of blood, leaving the beast's jaws gaping open at an impossible angle. She collapsed to the ground, blood leaking from her open mouth. The gengar's claws raked along the rapidash's haunches as it passed, leaving bloody gashes down the side of the Queen's mount.

A man in purple robes appeared beside the Queen, psychic energy radiating off his form. The gengar screeched at him, a ball of shadowy energy forming in its claws. A barrier sprung to life in front of him, deflecting the shadow ball into the dirt where it exploded info shadows.

The gengar cackled madly and formed another shadow ball in its claws. A pair of disembodied smiles appeared at its side, mischievously grinning at the psychic that had dared to protect their prey.

"Queen Mira, " said the psychic. "You must go. This is not a battle for mortals."

"I will do no such thing!" she spat, glaring at . "This is my war, as much as it is my husband's." She planted the butt end of her spear in the dirt and glanced down at her ursaring's corpse. Solemn determination filled her mind as she mourned her first pokemon. "This war ends to-"

Will's hand brushed against her arm and she felt the familiar suffocation of teleportation. She opened her eyes as he stepped away from her, painfully aware of her new location. He disappeared with a faint pop, leaving her alone in Blackthorn's throne room. One of the dratini that were lounging among the rafters hissed at her, dropping to the floor in front of her.

She shot it a furious look, forcing the dragon into submission with the force of her glare. It slunk away, slithering back up one of the many columns to take its place in the rafters.

She stormed up the steps to Lance's throne, still clutching her spear tightly in her fists. She stopped before the throne, glaring at the empty chair as if she could berate it in Lance's stead. She shook her head, a frustrated smile forming. She sat down in Lance's throne, exhaustion setting in as the adrenaline rushing through her veins started to fade. "I'm getting my own damned throne, " she said absentmindedly.

The door to the hall swung open, a half dozen servants bursting through the door. "My Queen, pardon our ignorance. We were not aware you had returned." The gaggle of servants stopped, taking in her ragged, blood splattered appearance with obvious shock.

"Wine, " Mira said, her voice hoarse. "Get me some wine."


	2. Royal Blood

_Return of the King! Let's see how Lance makes it up to his dear wife! As always, please leave a review for me! I get all teary eyed whenever I get a new one._

* * *

Lance stormed through the doors to his throne room, eyes fixated on the woman lounging on his throne. She tipped her wine glass towards the sky, draining the rest of the Fuchsian red in a single sip. Her brilliant emerald green dress shone in the light of the torches, contrasting violently with the armour that Lance had last seen her in. Lance stopped at the bottom of the staircase in front of the throne, kneeling before his Queen. "Mira, " he said quietly, voice barely audible over the crackling of the dragonfire torches. "I've been a damn fool."

She looked down at him, brushing her dark brown hair from her face as her brow furrowed at her husband. "That you have been." She stood up, looking down at the most powerful man in the region reduced to kneeling for her love. She stormed down the stairs past him, not even bothering to spare him a glance. She pushed open the doors to the balcony overlooking Blackthorn and stepped out into the morning sun. "I was to be at your side, share in the glory of battle with you."

Lance appeared at the doorway, his sullen look out of place with his usual brash demeanour. "It was for your safety. I could not bear the thought of any danger coming to you."

"Is that why you wasted your time butchering the Oak family?" Mira spat. She stared off at the cliffs that surrounded the city, eyes falling on the massive dragonite perched above the city. "Your anger has made you cruel and reckless. Your actions have ignited yet another war. One that I fear will cost Johto dearly."

Lance stiffened his posture, and his sullen expression morphed into a disapproving scowl. "You have never questioned my methods before. Where were these morals when we burned Olivine to the ground? When we lay the sword to the rebellion, side by side."

"And then, " Mira continued, ignoring his question.. "You fly off after your victory to indulge in more pointless bloodshed, rather than return to your beloved wife and Queen."

"I took the initiative and made the first-"

"You turned Viridian into a smouldering ruin!" she shouted, cutting him off. "You ensured that Kanto will never submit peacefully. They will fight us for every single mile of land. Every single fortress will fight to the last man because you have shown no quarter."

Lance stepped out onto the balcony with her, looking at her wistfully. "Perhaps I have acted rashly. But is that not preferable? Kanto is divided amongst petty kings and false monarchs. We can bring them together under us if we crush them into obedience." He paused, then held out his hand to her. "I was wrong to force you here. However, please understand that I only did so because of my love for you. With Koda and Firenze gone, you have no protection."

Mira's expression fell, Lance's words confirming her suspicions. "Firenze didn't make it?" she asked. Lance pulled her into a hug, holding her up as she mourned both her pokemon. She pulled away, head bowed and eyes locked on the floor."I wish to be alone."

Lance allowed her to step away, arms falling to his sides. "As you wish, My Queen."

She turned away, making for the doors of the throne room. She slammed them behind her, leaving Lance alone in the empty hall.

* * *

"With all due respect, what would you want a hatchling for?" Clair looked at her cousin with a curious smile, sweat streaking down her face. She shook out her icy blue hair, letting her ponytail down. "I have many fully grown dragons that are of much greater use to you. You should not worry yourself with raising a hatchling, especially now."

Lance sighed, adjusting his cape to avoid the river of lava that Clair had insisted they speak beside. The hatchery was located inside the mountains that Blackthorn was perched upon. Rivers of molten rock ran through the dragon den, pools of superheated magma heating clusters of eggs that sat perched on the rocky crags above them. "It is not for me, " he said plainly. "The Queen has need of a new pokemon."

Clair frowned, having expected this since she watched the Queen's pokemon fall to that wicked gengar. "She does not have the blood for it. It would tear her apart."

Lance shot her a scowl. "She is far too talented a trainer to allow that."

"I will not kill her by giving her a true dragon, " Clair said forcefully. Her status as Keeper let her trump Lance, at least in this one thing. "Give her a charizard if you wish to give her a dragon. The firedrake is the closest thing she could ever hope to train."

"I will train the dragon, " Lance replied. "Train it to listen to her commands as it would my own."

Clair stood in silence, studying Lance's expression. She turned towards the river of lava and held out an arm. "Nahanei, come." One of the dragonair that tended to the hatchery uncoiled from her place on the cave wall. She slipped down the craggy stone wall, landing beside the two dragon tamers. "The King requires a hatchling of the highest quality. One of the matriarch's prized offspring." Clair's dragonair nodded, lifting her head up to an alcove in the cave wall. A dratini coiled itself around the dragonair's neck, allowing her to ferry the hatchling to the ground.

Lance knelt before the hatchling as it sized him up. The dratini's inky black eyes met his and blinked once. Lance blinked back at the hatchling. The dratini slithered closer to him and pressed itself into his hand. "He will do perfectly, " he said, looking up at Clair. He stood, turning to look at Clair's dragonair. "Thank you, Nahanei. I am in your debt."

The dragon nodded and slithered back to her place above the pool of lava. Clair looked back at her cousin and smirked. "She's getting close to moulting for the last time. She'll be a dragonite soon."

"Your first, " Lance remarked. "You've trained her exceptionally well. She will make a magnificent dragonite."

Clair nodded and laughed. "She will make you wish you'd never pledged a debt to her." She looked up at her dragon fondly. "She can be a nasty bugger sometimes."

"Thank you, Keeper." Lance turned to walk away, the dratini curled around his forearm.

Clair stiffened her back and nodded. "It was my pleasure, Your Grace."

* * *

Lance stiffened his back, raising his arm. The dratini slithered towards his shoulder, looking curiously at the wooden door in front of him. Lance knocked on the door three times, hoping desperately that it would open for him.

The door swung open angrily, revealing the furious Queen. "What are you doing here?" she asked coldly. "I thought I said that I wish to be-"

"Alone, " Lance said. "I know." He stepped into the room, closing the door quietly behind him. He knelt, holding his hand out to the floor. The hatchling slithered down his arm, dropping onto the floor in front of Mira. "I didn't think that you really wanted to be alone."

Mira looked down at the dratini with puffy, red eyes. She narrowed her eyes and looked up at Lance. "I don't have the blood, " she said quietly. "Clair said that it would kill me."

"He is bonded to me, " Lance said. "His will is that of my own. Since I will never bring you harm, neither will he."

She frowned. "So I am to be just a trophy to you?" She shook her head and looked away from the dratini. "I will train my own pokemon. You will seldom have time to train him with me if you're off waging war."

"What if I stayed?" Lance asked. "What if I didn't go off to lead the army into battle?"

Mira smiled despite the pounding headache that she had given herself. "You would trade the lives of Johtan soldiers for a chance at redemption in my eyes?"

He nodded. "I would trade a great deal for your happiness, My Queen." He looked down at the dragon, smiling expectantly. "What would you like to name him?"

She knelt in front of the dratini, peering into its inky black eyes with her own brown eyes. "Vàli." She held out her hand to the dragon hatchling, letting its forked tongue taste her fingers.

Lance smiled and turned towards the door. He lifted a leather sack off his belt and dropped it to the floor. "He's probably hungry, " Lance said.

Mira reached for the leather sack without a word. She pulled it open, pulling out one of the strips of meat within. "Does their food need to be cooked?" she asked quietly.

The dratini launched, sinking his fangs into the strip of meat and tearing it from Mira's hand. The little dragon spat a jet of flames at the strip of meat, searing the flesh before choking it down.

"No, " Lance said with a laugh. He turned towards the door, leaving Mira to play with the curious little dragon. "I am sorry, My Queen. I will be in my chambers if you wish to speak with me."

She nodded, not bothering to look up from the hatchling. She pulled another strip of meat from the leather sack, happily feeding Vàli as Lance shut the door to her chambers behind him.


	3. Blood of a Dragon

_Why did I write this? Dragons, that's why. I really like dragons. I also love reviews, so if you leave one I'll be your bestest friend in the whole world._

* * *

"He is a dragon, " Lance said, studying the hatchling's pristine scales. They had yet to darken from the heat of the hatchery, and still shone a brilliant baby blue. "He will act as such. They do not take to obedience easily, nor will they ever be as affectionate as any of your other pokemon were." He tapped his blade against the rock that Vàli was sprawled out on, waking the dratini from his usual nap. "The first step to training a dragon is to build a bond of respect. If they respect you, then you have a chance at being more than just a meal."

Vàli looked up at them from his coils, lazily opening an eye at his trainer. He turned his head and stretched out on the rock, bathing in the heat of the lava pool. He snorted a small puff of smoke and continued his nap.

"Thankfully, " Lance continued, turning back to Mira. "You have already done this. Vàli has shown himself to be protective of you. Whether this is because he is bonded to me remains to be seen, but he has formed that bond of respect with you."

Mira furrowed her brow and wiped a layer of sweat from her forehead. "I have a question, " she said. "How is he forming a bond with me if he's already bonded to you? I don't understand this process."

Lance smiled knowingly. "It's alright, you don't need to understand. I don't even understand it at times." He reached out for the dratini and raised his hand.

Vàli raised his head, looking at lance with annoyance. He hissed and Lance closed his fist. The little dratini responded viscerally, retching and spitting madly. He reared up, a hidden fire glowing behind his eyes.

Mira stumbled backwards in awe. Waves of raw power radiated off Lance, driving her to her knees. She could feel the inhuman energy inside her husband writhe under his usually calm exterior. He turned and looked at her and her heart skipped a beat. His eyes were glowing a deep purple and his expression was one of barely contained rage.

"What are you?" she asked, dreading the answer. In all of the battles that they had fought together, she had never felt the power that he displayed today.

The fire in Lance's eyes faded and the waves of energy abated. "More than just a human, " he replied. His expression softened and she saw a flicker of a tear form in the corner of his eye. "My family has been living here, among the dragons for hundreds of years. It has somehow created a bond between the dragons and ourselves that grants us incredible powers." He looked over at Vàli, who was warily eying the dragon tamer. "We are faster, stronger, we live longer. It is almost as if we have become dragons ourselves."

Mira rose to her feet, attempting not to look at her husband. "When were you planning on telling me this?" she asked. "After I bore your children? When they started to understand that they were different?"

"Mira!" Lance interrupted. "I'm telling you now. This is something that has been forbidden from an outsider for centuries. I do this because you have the right to know." He turned and started down the rocky path. "As far as I can tell, this can happen with any pokemon. Theoretically, any human being could adapt to a type given enough time in contact. I believe that psychics and mediums are such people."

Mira followed him with a sigh. "How do you know?"

Lance grimaced and turned away. "Because I heard it from Agatha herself. She told me that she'd never seen someone who adapted to a pokemon so well." He paused, looking up at the lava floe that ran alongside their path. "She said that we had a chance with me."

"A chance at what?" Mira asked.

He looked at her with a baleful expression. He breathed in deeply, steeling himself for what came next. "Survival." He looked away, trying to wrestle with the guilt he felt within. He had slain the woman who stood between humanity and destruction, with nary a plan on how to avert the coming catastrophe. The old medium had been right after all. Lance may be the most powerful man in Johto, but he stood powerless before the coming storm.

"Lance, I cannot help if you don't let me in." Mira crossed her arms, frowning at him. "You will just have to trust me."

He closed his eyes and sighed. "Agatha spoke of a day where the gods walked the earth once more. Creatures of such unimaginable power that even I would fall before them. She told me that I would watch blackthorn burn and the hatchery fall to dust."

Mira's frown turned into a scowl. "You believed her?" she asked. Lance nodded slowly and Mira's expression softened. "My love, you cannot believe the ravings of a madwoman. The gods are long dead, and-"

"She showed me something, " Lance said, interrupting her. "A future where they return to the world." He shuddered, his mind clearly elsewhere. A far off look came over his face as the medium's tortured vision of the world replayed in his mind. "That is the true future of this world. It is coming, regardless of who wins this blasted war. It is coming, and we must be ready for nobody else has the strength to stop it."

* * *

Mira lay on the bed of the garden, sprawled out and staring at the sky. Vàli slithered over to her side, his cool warmth providing comfort. She absentmindedly scratched the back of her dratini's head, lost in thought. If what Lance had told her was true, then the entire world was at stake. The might of their empire would mean nothing if Lance could not defeat the evil that threatened the world.

Vàli pushed his snout into Mira's hand, breaking her concentration. She smiled at the dragon and curled her body around its serpentine length. Vàli happily cooed as his trainer pulled him closer. She closed her eyes, savouring the sensation of closeness with her pokemon.

"My Queen, " Lance said. Mira turned her head, finding Lance standing at the end of the hedge. She sat up, ignoring Vàli's indignant protest as she did so. "I was wondering if you would walk with me?"

She shook her head. "I went for a walk, " she said. She patted Vàli's head and gave him a weak smile. "This is where I ended up."

Lance held out his hand, pulling her to her feet. "The ground is no place for a Queen to lay."

Mira smiled, gazing at the flower bed she had been laying in. "Perhaps it is the best place for a Queen to lay, and I'm the first one to notice?" She smiled for a split second, happy at the moment before reality came crashing back down. "What if we left?" she asked suddenly. "What if we flew off into the night's sky and never came back?"

Lance smiled sadly. Mira could see the longing in his eyes and knew he would never say yes. "As much as I would love that, we have a responsibility. Johto needs us. It needs a champion."

"That is your mantle, " Mira said bitterly. "I am no champion."

"You are what makes me a champion, " he replied. She turned, attempting to walk away from him but he grabbed hold of her arm. "We are bound by duty, Mira. Our marriage has made that necessary."

She pulled her arm away, looking at him nervously. "And what if we didn't have a duty to the world?" she asked. "What would you do if Johto didn't need you?"

Lance frowned, his piercing eyes seeming to look right through Mira. "It will do no good to think of these things, " he said softly. "Johto needs me to be her champion. I will not shirk my duty to my homeland."

Mira looked at him as his frown faded. She knew him, likely better than the man knew himself. He would never abandon his duty, he was too good for that. "I know that, " she said. "I would never ask you to leave when there is work to be done." She smiled and took his hand, happy she had not misjudged him. "Now, if you are going to save the world, there is work to do. Where should we start?"

"We start right here, " he said as he pulled her in for a kiss. She pulled her head back and pointed to their side. "I think we have a visitor, " she said. She leaned in and kissed his cheek softly. "After, my dear."

Lance looked up in obvious discomfort. "Will, " he said, eyes falling on the man that had interrupted him and his wife. "How goes the war?" he asked. "I trust that Lord Gold has Pewter under control?"

The slender man shifted, frowning at his liege. "No, " he replied shortly. "We have a problem. If we could speak privately?"

Lance turned and stepped away from Mira. "Very well, " he said. He turned to Mira with a worried smile. "I shall join you in your chambers when I am done, " he said.

Mira nodded. "See to it then, " she replied with a sullen tone. "I shall be waiting." She turned and stormed from the garden with Vàli in tow.

Lance watched her go, admiring her form with every step. His wife was sculpted in all the right places, a life of war honing her body into a finely crafted weapon. Lance had never met a woman quite like her. Will's bored tone drew him out of his thoughts and brought his attention back to reality.

"As I was saying, " Will said in clear annoyance. "We have a problem. Lord Gold was beaten back by a force of mercenaries."

Lance raised an eyebrow. "One of my most trusted vassals was bested by mere mercenaries?" he asked. "Perhaps my trust in his ability was misplaced."

Will shook his head. "No, you were correct. He handled the battle exceedingly well. The entire force would have been wiped out if not for him."

"Then what is the issue?" Lance asked. "Assign him double the men, and he'll bring Pewter under control."

"The issue is that those mercenaries should not have been there."

Lance stopped in his tracks, looking at Will with suspicion. "How can that be? You told me you had seen every battle, every outcome possible."

Will scowled in clear frustration. "Clearly not, " he said. "I suspect that we are faced with a different adversary than we think. Someone who intimately knows the limitations of psychics."

Lance turned away from Will, pacing back and forth as he thought aloud. "Another psychic?" he asked before shaking his head. "No, you'd be able to sense them…"

"If I may, " Will interjected. "I suspect that we are dealing with someone who has adapted to the dark type. No other type can so easily hide their actions from me. It is possible that someone within Kanto is taking advantage of the chaos to strike at us directly."

"I only know of two people who have adapted to the dark type, " Lance said hurriedly. "And one of them died from it." He looked up at the starry night's sky and whistled a short sharp tone. Barely a second had passed before his dragonite landed heavily in front of him. He clambered up the beast's back and looked down at Will with a fire blazing in his eyes. "Tell Mira that I'm sorry, " he called down to the psychic.

"Where are you going?" Will asked, half shouting to be heard.

Lance looked down at him with a mournful expression. "To see somebody I should have spoken to ages ago." Without waiting for Will to respond, he urged his dragonite into the sky. The ground dropped away below him effortlessly, his dragonite surging into the sky faster than seemingly possible. He looked up at the sun on the horizon and swallowed the lump in his throat as his dragon soared through the mountaintops. "I'm coming, Karen…"


End file.
